Hang made the statement at a regular press conference in Hanoi on March
22, in response to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA)’s reporter’s query related to the
Chinese Ministry of Agriculture’s announcement of the adjustments to the
regulations.

The spokeswoman stressed that Vietnam has sufficient legal ground and
historical evidence affirming its sovereignty over Hoang Sa (Paracel) and
Truong Sa (Spratly) archipelagoes, as well as legitimate rights over its waters
in line with the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).

These regulations violate Vietnam’s sovereignty over Hoang Sa
archipelago, and the country’s legal rights and interests over its waters, as
well as international law, including the UNCLOS, she said.

China’s decision also runs counter the spirit and wording of the
Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC) and the agreement
on basic principles guiding the settlement of issues at sea signed between
Vietnam and China, does not conform with the important agreement on well
controlling disputes at sea reached by the two countries’ leaders, and brings
no benefits to peace, stability and cooperation in the East Sea and the fruitful
development trend of Vietnam-China relations, as well as efforts of countries
in negotiating a Code of Conduct in the East Sea (COC), Hang said.-VNA